Pressure-governor for hot-water heating systems.



PATENTED FEB. 21, 1905.

J. P. SINCLAIR. PRESSURE GOVERNOR FOR HOT WATER HEATING SYSTEMS.

APPLIOATION FILED MAY 17. 1904..

WIHVESSES; 0 11V VENZOR 415.4%.

MTTORNEX Patented February 21, 1905.

PATENT; @iirrcrt.

JAMES P. SINCLAIR, OF JORDAN, NEW YORK.

PRESSURE-GOVERNOR FOR HOT-WATER HEATING SYSTEMS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 783,145, dated February21, 1905.

' Application filer. May 17, 1904. Serial No. 208,827.

To a, 1072,0112, it vnaty concern.

Be it known that 1, JAMES P. SINCLAIR, of Jordan, in the county ofOnondaga,in the State of. New York, have invented new and usefulImprovements in Pressure-Governors for Hot- \Vater Heating Systems, ofwhich the following, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing,is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to improvements in hot-water heating systems inwhich the water is distributedor circulated by expansion from a suitableheater through the radiators or pipes of the system and to any part oraltitude of a building.

My objectis to aid the upflow of the heated water and to hold the samein the radiators at any altitude, so that the whole heating system isfilled with hot water which may be heated to a temperature considerablyabove the boiling-point, or 212 Fahrenheit,without generating steam.

It is well known that a body of heated water is less susceptible tochilling influences than steam and retains its heat for a longer periodof time, and therefore is better adapted to maintain an even temperaturethan steam; but it is equally well known that in raising the heatedwater to high altitudes solely by its expansive force the counteractingforce of gravity or inertia, which increases directly with the altitude,operates to retard the circulation and limits the height at which theexpansive force is ineffective and at the same time causes an excessivepressure at the base of the system or upon the heater.

Another object of my invention is therefore to equalize thewater-pressure in all parts of the system by introducing a variablecounterpressure which is automatically brought into action by and isproportionate to the gravity and expansive force of the superimposedbody of water.

Other objects and uses will appear in the following description.

In the drawing I have shown a portion of a hot-water circulating systemcomprising a heater 1 and a pressure-equalizing apparatus, which isshown in section.

The heater 1 may be of any suitable conand from the radiators.

struction capable of receiving and heating water and is provided withthe usual upflow and return pipes 2 and 3, leading, respectively, to(Not shown.) The pressure-equalizing apparatus may also be of anysuitable construction for receiving the water from the heater or otherparts of the circulating system and counteracting its gravity andexpansive forces; but I preferably employ two separate upright metaltanks or cylinders 4: and 5, in which are movable, respectively, hollowmetal floats or pistons 6 and 7 The water from the base of the heatingsystem is introduced into the base of'the tank 4: through a suitableconduit 8 and has a free flow from the heater andreturn-pipes into thebase of the tank 4:, which tends to elevate the floats 6 and 7. Theupper ends of both tanks 4: and 5 are open to receive and guide theirrespective floats 6 and 7, which have their upper ends closed and yokedtogether by a plate 10, while their lower ends are provided withpacking-rings 11 and 12 and constitute pistons for forming air and watertight compartments 1 1 and 15 in the lower ends of the tanks 4 and 5,respectively. The bottom of the float 6 has an aperture 16 through whichthe water from the compartment 1 1 may pass and trap the air or gas inthe upper part of the float 6, which is hollow and is connected to asuitable gas-generating apparatus 17, presently described. It nowappears that the floats 6 and 7 are yoked together to move verticallyand simultaneously in their respective tanks and that their combinedweight, together with any load which they may carry, tend to counteractthe back pressure of the water from the heating system. This weight ofthe movable parts of the apparatus may be termed the normalcounterbalancing-weight; but it is usually insufficient to hold thewater at high altitudes in the system, and in order to compensate forthe difference the air may be wholly or partially exhausted from thecomcrates to hold the water at the desired altitude in the heatingsystem. For instance, suppose the normal weight of the floats and partscarried thereby to be ten pounds per square inch. Then by exhaustingpractically all of the air from the compartment 15 an additionalatmospheric pressure of substantially fifteen pounds per square inch isadded to this normal weight, making a total of twenty-five pounds persquare inch in the compartment 14:. Now if the cross-sectional area ofeach of the upflow and return pipes is four square inches the resultantupward pressure in each pipe would be practically one hundred pounds(100). This example serves merely to demonstrate the theory of myapparatus; but in practice the atmospheric pressure in the compartment15 may be reduced at will to produce a corresponding increase in upwardpressure per square inch of area in the heating system to hold the waterat the desired altitude. The tendency of the heated water in the heater1 to expand upwardly in the upflowing-pipe 2 and to return in the pipe 2is the same as in the ordinary hot-water heating system, and thelifting-pressure produced by my attatchment is substantially the same inboth the upflow and return pipes, and therefore the use of thisattachment is principally to hold the water at higher altitudes, therebyrelieving the heater from excessive hydrostatic pressure This additionallifting-pressu re may be accom plished, if desired, by introducing orexpanding gas in the upper part of the float 6, and I have thereforeshown a gas-reservoir 17 as discharging into the said float aboveliquidlevel. This gas may be held under pressure in the reservoir andadmitted under pressure into the float 6, or it may be produced bychemical action in the float to create suflicient pressure to depressthe water in the compartment, and thereby elevate it considerabledistance in the pipes of the heating system, it being understood that ineither case, whether by atmospheric or gas pressure, the down ward'pressure of, say, one inch of the water-head of, say, one hundredsquare inches would elevate a column of water having an area of foursquare inches a distance of twenty-ii ve inches.

It is therefore seen that when the pressure of the float 6 on thewater-head in the compartment 1 1 is sufficient to hold-the water in thedistributing system against the backflow to said compartment anyadditional downward pressure exerted upon the float 6, as by furtherexhausting air from the compartment, would depress the water-level inthe compartment 14, and thereby elevate the water in the system adistance very much greater than the amount of such depression.

In the operation of my invention, assuming that the water is incirculation in the heating system, but fails to reach certainaltitudes,then it is simply necessary to exhaust part of the air fromthe compartment 15 until the excess gravity-pressure ot' the water inthe system is overcome or at least balanced by the atmospheric pressureon the floats, and if the water then fails to expand to thedesiredaltitude additional air may be exhausted from the compartment 15to cause the depression of the floats, which in turn causes a rise ofwater in the system.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secureby Letters Patent, is-

1. In a hot-water heating system, two cylinders yoked together eachhaving a piston, one cylinder connected to the base of the system andreceiving water against its piston and means to exhaust air from theother cylinder, whereby the inequality of air-pressure causes bothpistons to move downwardly to counteract the gravity of liquid in saidsystem.

2. In a hot-water heating system, a tank having a movable piston, meansto exhaust air from the tank at one end of the piston whereby the pistonis actuated by atmospheric pressure and means brought into action bysaid piston to counteract the gravity and expansion of the water in saidsystem.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 2d day of May, 1904.

JAMES P. SINCLAIR.

itnesses:

H. E. CHASE, HOWARD P. DENISON.

